Bay Area Puma Project

The Bay Area Puma Project is the first major study of pumas (also called mountain lions or cougars) in the south San Francisco Bay Area.[1] Launched in May 2008 in the Santa Cruz Mountains, the study is currently underway (As of 2009) with nine cats being tracked using GPS-accelerometer collars. This project is the first phase of a projected ten-year conservation effort to preserve and protect the Bay Area puma population. The study is being conducted by researchers at UC Santa Cruz in partnership with Felidae Conservation Fund, with coordination from the California Department of Fish and Game and California State Parks.[2]

Background

The puma is a close neighbor of many communities in the San Francisco Bay Area. In recent years, the rapid pace of development in the region has caused settled areas to expand into puma territory, resulting in more frequent human-puma encounters and creating serious challenges for habitat connectivity and the sustainability of the puma population. Moreover, because pumas are the top predator in the local ecosystem, a decline in the health of the puma population would affect the health of many other species and that of the ecosystem as a whole. In order to successfully address these challenges, greater understanding about the puma population is needed to enable more informed dialog among decision makers, so that the issues can be resolved effectively and healthy co-existence can be achieved between human communities and puma populations.[2][3][4]

Research objectives

The study is designed to reveal basic facts about the Bay Area's puma population, such as range, density, movement, feeding patterns, and the effects of roads and other human development. In addition, a novel feature of the study is an accelerometer on the collar that records precise data on activity and movement, measuring the acceleration behind each footstep. This feature will offer new insights into puma behavior and physiology, especially regarding interactions with habitat, prey, humans, and residential communities.[4]

Conservation goals

The information and insights gained from this study will help scientists and the public to better understand the critical role that pumas play in the region's natural ecosystem. The findings will be the basis for outreach and education programs that will help convince local communities and regional decision makers of the need to preserve habitats, stave off further extinctions, and promote healthy ways for humans to co-exist with wild cats.[2]

Specific conservations goals that will be supported by the study include:

See also

References

External links

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